New York-based Jamaican social media influencer Michelle Hylton, popularly known as “Michii”, is among eight people indicted in the United States over an alleged multimillion-dollar bank fraud scheme.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday that the defendants face charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison upon conviction.
The other accused are Jeshon Bingham, also known as “Glizzy”; Rupert Sherrier, known as “Mr Bag Different”; Floyd Forrest, known as “Wild Apache Junior”; Reheem Anderson, known as “Dirt”; Mikhail Davis, known as “Mickey”; Juzan Spence, known as “Juju”; and Chavaughn Boothe, known as “Quenga”.
Federal prosecutors allege that the group defrauded several national financial institutions of millions of dollars in a scheme that began in 2022 and continued until their arrests on Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, the defendants recruited people through social media and other channels to allow their bank accounts to be used to deposit fraudulent cheques and US Treasury instruments. Funds were then allegedly withdrawn before banks detected that the instruments were counterfeit.
The indictment outlines nine alleged deposits totalling US$627,236 between September 2022 and September 2023 at banks in the Bronx, Mount Vernon and Westchester. These reportedly included a US$350,000 cheque deposited on January 13, 2023, and a US$100,000 cheque deposited on March 15 that year.
The amount allegedly withdrawn from those deposits was not specified in the information provided.
Prosecutors allege that some recruitment took place openly on Instagram. Hylton allegedly posted a story asking people with Bank of America accounts to contact her about making money. Davis is accused of making a similar offer to people with Wells Fargo accounts.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the case reflected efforts by alleged fraudsters to exploit social media platforms.
The Justice Department did not identify the defendants’ nationalities. However, Nationwide News reported that several are Jamaican.
According to Nationwide News, Hylton is originally from Parade Gardens in central Kingston and is known in social media and dancehall circles for hosting events in Jamaica and New York. She reportedly moved to New York in 2022 and has more than 60,000 Instagram followers.
Arrangements for the defendants’ initial court appearances were being finalised, according to the report.
The charges are allegations, and all eight defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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